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To meet demand for coffee drinks and market her café, Bre Ruelas decided to sell 34-ounce buckets of lattes at her Newton business, Morning Glory Café.

“The buckets came along because we thought, ‘We’ve got to get this moving, we’ve got to let people know about us,’” Ruelas said.

Ruelas and her sister planned to distribute buckets at a rodeo for promotion. Ruelas said the rodeo was canceled so she took the buckets back to the café.

“We made a single, 30-view TikTok,” Ruelas said. “We posted it on Facebook and it got enough traction to bring some of our regulars in who wanted a bucket. Two regulars who were not social-media specialists posted it and it went viral.”

Ruelas said the attention brought a reviewer in to make a post about the café.

“Ever since then, we’ve been non-stop on the buckets,” Ruelas said. “It seems to be trend-setting because we’ve had other coffee shops around the county doing them as well.”

The buckets sold quickly. On Aug. 20, Ruelas said she expected to be out of buckets by the end of the day.

Ruelas said she does not plan to offer the buckets year-round but will sell them again.

“We’ll revamp it come fall and make it seasonal,” Ruelas said. “We’ll give the buckets a different look.”

Ruelas said customers who bought a bucket can bring it back for refills at a discounted price.

Ruelas previously owned a coffee shop in Hickory called Short & Sweet but closed that business after her husband had an accident at his job that left him partially paralyzed.

Juggling care for her husband, three children and running a business keeps Ruelas busy. She said she does it because she felt a calling to open a place in Newton for people to connect, network and socialize over food and coffee.

“We’re a faith-based café,” Ruelas said. “God put it on my heart to be a place the community can meet, (where) we can do for others and treat everybody with love and respect, no matter who comes in the door.”

Ruelas described the décor as “vintage eclectic, neat and homey.” Tables are spread out in the dining area so customers do not feel rushed or cramped while eating.

“We don’t want to be a fast-paced, in-and-out type place where we just make money,” Ruelas said. “We don’t want anyone to feel rushed. We want everyone to come in and feel comfortable.”

Morning Glory Café serves breakfast and lunch. Ruelas said a popular menu item is the “Holy Club Sandwich”, which features house-cut bacon, ham and turkey as well as a bacon-apple jam.

Ruelas said she also offers an item called “The Small Group,” four mini waffles of different flavors, like chocolate, French toast, lemon blueberry and other flavors. Ruelas said the flavors change often.

For lunch, Ruelas said freshly-made chicken salad is a popular option.

Though the buckets of lattes are gone, Ruelas is working on the next creative idea for the café.

“I’m not going to give any spoilers, but the next thing we’re going to have is better than the bucket,” Ruelas said. “I’ll just say … you won’t have to choose between two things.”

Morning Glory Café is located at 15 N. College Ave. in Newton. The café is open Tuesday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Saturday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

To learn more about Morning Glory Café, visit their Instagram, .